Kristy McCaffrey's Blog: Author Kristy McCaffrey - Posts Tagged "romance-books"
Guest Post: My Easy-Bake Christmas by Patti Sherry-Crews
Please welcome author Patti Sherry-Crews to my blog today. I had the pleasure of working with Patti on the recently released A CHRISTMAS COWBOY TO KEEP. Her wonderfully romantic contribution, COUNTING DOWN TO CHRISTMAS, features cookie-making. Read more about Patti's inspiration for the story.
By Patti Sherry-Crews
I remember when I was a young mother how excited I was to carry forward all the holiday traditions I’d grown up with. Baking cookies and other treats at Christmas being one of them. And I’d been given all my grandmother’s and mother’s bakeware! I have quite a collection.
I baked and baked and baked, going through more pounds of butter in a month’s time than I did the preceding eleven months of the year. Sadly, I quickly learned nobody was going to eat all those cookies and cakes except for me— valiantly devouring sweets the best I could. Those pounds of butter looked attractive on my derriere.
I stopped baking almost entirely, and that decreased with children moving out, combined with new requests for gluten-free, no-carb, vegan, low-sugar, and dairy free foodstuffs.
But I still have all these wonderful cookie cutters and tins, and even though I didn’t use them to bake anymore, they still are a presence. Just seeing them brings so many memories and people back to me.
So every year they come out. I string the cookie cutters along garlands, make chandelier type arrangements out of evergreen wreaths and dangle the cookie cutters off of them. I make little tableaus of my gingerbread house mold and my Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer jelly mold. I get as much pleasure out of thinking of new ways to display my collection as I do seeing them.
Pieces from my Collection of Holiday Bake Wear on Display, Including Rudolph “Jello Mold” and Gingerbread House Mold
When I wrote my story, Counting Down to Christmas in the set A Christmas Cowboy to Keep, I knew there had to be a cookie decorating scene. And knowing how much these family keepsakes mean to me, I spent time on sites like Pinterest and Etsy trying to track down my own cookie cutters and bakeware, sometimes even finding images of some in their original packaging.
What I found out was that I have a collection spanning back through decades of family history starting with my own additions like my Ugly Christmas Sweater and gigantic snowflake cookie cutters.
1960’s: the copper cookie cutters including Santas, reindeer, and snowmen. Also the mini animals which we always used for shortbread, but as it turns out were actually from a child’s playset called “Little Mothers Cooky Cutters.”
1950’s: The aluminum one-piece angels, etc., the melamine marbleized camel and elephant and other circus characters in salmon pink, and the red transparent gingerbread men.
1930’s: All the cookie cutters with mint green or red painted wooden handles.
A Sampling of the Cookie Cutters Used by my Family
It turns out my Rudolph jello mold was actually once part of an 8-piece cake set from 1939. Robert May, the man who wrote the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, held the copy-write for the set. Incidentally, he lived in my town, and I went to school with his daughter.
The 8 Piece Cake Set. I Found my “Jello” Mold!
Another odd piece I’m fond of displaying is my gingerbread house mold. It’s not a kit like you see nowadays where you piece together flat sections of gingerbread with frosting. My mold makes a solid gingerbread cake. It came out in the year I was born, 1958.
Gingerbread House Mold and the Mini Copper Animals in their Original Packaging
And even though I don’t own this cowboy cookie cutter it has a special place in my story. Read the excerpt below to see how this guy brings out the Christmas spirit in a Christmas Grinch.
One Special Cookie Cutter for One Special Cowboy
An excerpt from Counting Down to Christmas
Leland looked at the racks of cooling cookies set out over the table, along with bowls of colored icing and decorative sprinkles. The women were already at work spreading icing on the cookies and setting them on waxed paper. He grabbed one off the rack nearest to him and sat down.
His mother slapped his hand. “Wait until we decorate them, please. In fact, why don’t you give us a hand?”
“What? You want me to decorate cookies?”
“You used to love to do that.”
“When I was six.”
Melody wrinkled her nose with distaste. He ignored her and picked through the old hat box full of cookie cutters. He pulled out one and his heart leaped with joy.
“Mustang Muldoon!” He cried out before he thought about it.
* * *
The delight in his voice took Melody by surprise. Her hand stilled in the middle of reaching for another cookie to decorate. She looked up at Leland and witnessed a transformation in his face. He held an ancient-looking cookie cutter. His eyes were crinkled and sparkling, a contagious grin spread across his face.
“What is that?” she couldn’t help but ask, pointing to the vaguely humanoid shape in his hand.
He flicked a look of annoyance in her direction. “He’s a cowboy, of course.”
“Oh, you used to love making cowboy cookies!” Alma picked up a cookie and handed it to him. “Why don’t you decorate him for me.”
Melody studied the blob-shaped cookie with a pointed head. “That’s a cowboy? I don’t see it.”
“The cookies do lose some detail when you bake them,” said Alma.
“Doesn’t look like a cowboy...” Leland rolled his eyes. “You have to decorate it the right way, that’s all. Ma, remember how we used to make the fringe on his chaps?”
“We used chocolate jimmies. I think I have some in the pantry.” Alma got up from the table.
Melody studied Leland as he hunched over to spread white frosting on his cookie. His hair had flopped over his forehead and he was biting his bottom lip in concentration. She could see the small boy in him, and a sudden warmth washed over her heart, which she quickly dismissed.
COUNTING DOWN TO CHRISTMAS
is available in
A Christmas Cowboy To Keep
on
Amazon
About Patti
Patti Sherry-Crews lives in Evanston, Illinois, with her husband, one bad dog, and one good cat. She is a mother of three grown children and about to become a grandmother for the third time this winter. She is an award-winning author who writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction as well as historical western and medieval romances.
By Patti Sherry-Crews
I remember when I was a young mother how excited I was to carry forward all the holiday traditions I’d grown up with. Baking cookies and other treats at Christmas being one of them. And I’d been given all my grandmother’s and mother’s bakeware! I have quite a collection.
I baked and baked and baked, going through more pounds of butter in a month’s time than I did the preceding eleven months of the year. Sadly, I quickly learned nobody was going to eat all those cookies and cakes except for me— valiantly devouring sweets the best I could. Those pounds of butter looked attractive on my derriere.
I stopped baking almost entirely, and that decreased with children moving out, combined with new requests for gluten-free, no-carb, vegan, low-sugar, and dairy free foodstuffs.
But I still have all these wonderful cookie cutters and tins, and even though I didn’t use them to bake anymore, they still are a presence. Just seeing them brings so many memories and people back to me.
So every year they come out. I string the cookie cutters along garlands, make chandelier type arrangements out of evergreen wreaths and dangle the cookie cutters off of them. I make little tableaus of my gingerbread house mold and my Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer jelly mold. I get as much pleasure out of thinking of new ways to display my collection as I do seeing them.
Pieces from my Collection of Holiday Bake Wear on Display, Including Rudolph “Jello Mold” and Gingerbread House Mold
When I wrote my story, Counting Down to Christmas in the set A Christmas Cowboy to Keep, I knew there had to be a cookie decorating scene. And knowing how much these family keepsakes mean to me, I spent time on sites like Pinterest and Etsy trying to track down my own cookie cutters and bakeware, sometimes even finding images of some in their original packaging.
What I found out was that I have a collection spanning back through decades of family history starting with my own additions like my Ugly Christmas Sweater and gigantic snowflake cookie cutters.
1960’s: the copper cookie cutters including Santas, reindeer, and snowmen. Also the mini animals which we always used for shortbread, but as it turns out were actually from a child’s playset called “Little Mothers Cooky Cutters.”
1950’s: The aluminum one-piece angels, etc., the melamine marbleized camel and elephant and other circus characters in salmon pink, and the red transparent gingerbread men.
1930’s: All the cookie cutters with mint green or red painted wooden handles.
A Sampling of the Cookie Cutters Used by my Family
It turns out my Rudolph jello mold was actually once part of an 8-piece cake set from 1939. Robert May, the man who wrote the song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, held the copy-write for the set. Incidentally, he lived in my town, and I went to school with his daughter.
The 8 Piece Cake Set. I Found my “Jello” Mold!
Another odd piece I’m fond of displaying is my gingerbread house mold. It’s not a kit like you see nowadays where you piece together flat sections of gingerbread with frosting. My mold makes a solid gingerbread cake. It came out in the year I was born, 1958.
Gingerbread House Mold and the Mini Copper Animals in their Original Packaging
And even though I don’t own this cowboy cookie cutter it has a special place in my story. Read the excerpt below to see how this guy brings out the Christmas spirit in a Christmas Grinch.
One Special Cookie Cutter for One Special Cowboy
An excerpt from Counting Down to Christmas
Leland looked at the racks of cooling cookies set out over the table, along with bowls of colored icing and decorative sprinkles. The women were already at work spreading icing on the cookies and setting them on waxed paper. He grabbed one off the rack nearest to him and sat down.
His mother slapped his hand. “Wait until we decorate them, please. In fact, why don’t you give us a hand?”
“What? You want me to decorate cookies?”
“You used to love to do that.”
“When I was six.”
Melody wrinkled her nose with distaste. He ignored her and picked through the old hat box full of cookie cutters. He pulled out one and his heart leaped with joy.
“Mustang Muldoon!” He cried out before he thought about it.
* * *
The delight in his voice took Melody by surprise. Her hand stilled in the middle of reaching for another cookie to decorate. She looked up at Leland and witnessed a transformation in his face. He held an ancient-looking cookie cutter. His eyes were crinkled and sparkling, a contagious grin spread across his face.
“What is that?” she couldn’t help but ask, pointing to the vaguely humanoid shape in his hand.
He flicked a look of annoyance in her direction. “He’s a cowboy, of course.”
“Oh, you used to love making cowboy cookies!” Alma picked up a cookie and handed it to him. “Why don’t you decorate him for me.”
Melody studied the blob-shaped cookie with a pointed head. “That’s a cowboy? I don’t see it.”
“The cookies do lose some detail when you bake them,” said Alma.
“Doesn’t look like a cowboy...” Leland rolled his eyes. “You have to decorate it the right way, that’s all. Ma, remember how we used to make the fringe on his chaps?”
“We used chocolate jimmies. I think I have some in the pantry.” Alma got up from the table.
Melody studied Leland as he hunched over to spread white frosting on his cookie. His hair had flopped over his forehead and he was biting his bottom lip in concentration. She could see the small boy in him, and a sudden warmth washed over her heart, which she quickly dismissed.
COUNTING DOWN TO CHRISTMAS
is available in
A Christmas Cowboy To Keep
on
Amazon
About Patti
Patti Sherry-Crews lives in Evanston, Illinois, with her husband, one bad dog, and one good cat. She is a mother of three grown children and about to become a grandmother for the third time this winter. She is an award-winning author who writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction as well as historical western and medieval romances.
Write A Novel In A Month
By Kristy McCaffrey
If you’ve been on Facebook or Twitter, then you might have seen posts about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. During the month of November writers from around the world collectively put their butts in the chair and pound out a novel. There’s a website where you can register your project, track your daily word count, and interact with your friends and colleagues who are also participating. To win NaNo, you must write 50,000 words by November 30. If you’re a writer, you know how tough this can be. And if you’re a reader, you might wonder what all the fuss is about.
I’ve successfully completed two previous NaNo’s—the first was for my western romance THE BLACKBIRD (2014), and the second was my romantic suspense novel about great white sharks titled DEEP BLUE (2016).
How does NaNo benefit a writer? It forces the internal editor to take a vacation. Believe me, this is far harder than it sounds, and is probably the biggest battleground an author will face in trying to complete NaNo. The internal editor not only encompasses good sentence structure and proper grammar, he/she also wants fully-fleshed characters right out of the gate, will insist on researching the name of the road in that western town in 1877 before allowing any more forward movement in the story, and wants to investigate every Irish surname for a secondary character who only appears in one scene. The internal editor can be the harshest of critics, and many a writer has succumbed to crippling self-doubt as a result.
But if an author has already published several novels, he/she must have found a way to work with this ridiculously overbearing boss, right? Excuse me while I laugh hysterically. Okay, I’m back. The short answer is, no. But all is not lost, and that’s where NaNo helps writers to shine. It forces us to push past the persnickety side-commentator and get the story down. NaNo is all about the first draft—those random and sometimes illogical beginnings of our stories. As a reader, all you’ve ever seen is the spiffed up final version of a project, so it’s hard to understand that it didn’t always look that way. Most first drafts would shock the spit right out of you. Just kidding. They’re not that horrifying, but they can be quite the hot mess.
To write 50,000 words in one month (and November only has 30 days), a writer must punch out 1,667 words per day. I usually round up to 2,000, because life doesn’t stop for me to write, so there will be days when I don’t hit that goal. Since my novels tend to be 75-85K in length, writing 50K won’t be the entire book. This leads to the most important advice I can offer about NaNo—make sure you get to THE END. This means that some scenes will be skipped, heavy description and backstory will be lightly touched upon, and character development will be invariably sketchy. But this is a good thing. Getting to the end offers insights that can’t be found any other way, and it will make the first revision pass much more fruitful.
One quirk I’ve learned during NaNo is that my scenes end up out of order. Since I know this about myself, I don’t spend too much time in my transitions from one incident to the next, because I’ll likely be moving them around later. I simply try to find the interior energy of a scene and expound on that as best I can. Then I move on. You can’t dilly-dally during NaNo.
And while it’s true I’ll be forced to discard large chunks of my preciously speed-written prose during the refining stages of the manuscript, it’s never wasted. I almost always learn something from the misstep, either about my characters or a plot direction that wasn’t going to work. I’ve also had delightful surprises. I didn’t find the great white shark star of my suspense book until the very end of the first draft. Her name was Bonnie, and when she arrived she changed the whole tone of the story. That’s why it’s important to get to the end. Once I knew about her, it was clear how I needed to lay the groundwork for her presence earlier in the book, and it completely informed the direction of my revisions.
This year, I’m unofficially participating and I won’t lie, it’s stressful. Some days I just can’t figure out what should happen next, and my mind’s innate tendency to wander off—online Christmas shopping! Let’s do that!—must be held in rigorous check. The manuscript (ANCIENT WINDS, the third book in my suspense series) is unfolding in a choppy and somewhat haphazard way, and it’s downright maddening. But … I’m finding those little gems along the way. (I have a fabulous scene in the Amazonian jungle with my hero and heroine and an anaconda that quite surprised me.) And this is because NaNo doesn’t let up; it forces you to write something. Anything. It inspires innovation.
So, if you’re a writer and haven’t given NaNo a try, consider it. You might astonish yourself. And if you’re a reader, have sympathy for those participating. We won’t be grumpy lunatics for long.
Connect with Kristy
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog ~ Pathways
Newsletter
If you’ve been on Facebook or Twitter, then you might have seen posts about National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. During the month of November writers from around the world collectively put their butts in the chair and pound out a novel. There’s a website where you can register your project, track your daily word count, and interact with your friends and colleagues who are also participating. To win NaNo, you must write 50,000 words by November 30. If you’re a writer, you know how tough this can be. And if you’re a reader, you might wonder what all the fuss is about.
I’ve successfully completed two previous NaNo’s—the first was for my western romance THE BLACKBIRD (2014), and the second was my romantic suspense novel about great white sharks titled DEEP BLUE (2016).
How does NaNo benefit a writer? It forces the internal editor to take a vacation. Believe me, this is far harder than it sounds, and is probably the biggest battleground an author will face in trying to complete NaNo. The internal editor not only encompasses good sentence structure and proper grammar, he/she also wants fully-fleshed characters right out of the gate, will insist on researching the name of the road in that western town in 1877 before allowing any more forward movement in the story, and wants to investigate every Irish surname for a secondary character who only appears in one scene. The internal editor can be the harshest of critics, and many a writer has succumbed to crippling self-doubt as a result.
But if an author has already published several novels, he/she must have found a way to work with this ridiculously overbearing boss, right? Excuse me while I laugh hysterically. Okay, I’m back. The short answer is, no. But all is not lost, and that’s where NaNo helps writers to shine. It forces us to push past the persnickety side-commentator and get the story down. NaNo is all about the first draft—those random and sometimes illogical beginnings of our stories. As a reader, all you’ve ever seen is the spiffed up final version of a project, so it’s hard to understand that it didn’t always look that way. Most first drafts would shock the spit right out of you. Just kidding. They’re not that horrifying, but they can be quite the hot mess.
To write 50,000 words in one month (and November only has 30 days), a writer must punch out 1,667 words per day. I usually round up to 2,000, because life doesn’t stop for me to write, so there will be days when I don’t hit that goal. Since my novels tend to be 75-85K in length, writing 50K won’t be the entire book. This leads to the most important advice I can offer about NaNo—make sure you get to THE END. This means that some scenes will be skipped, heavy description and backstory will be lightly touched upon, and character development will be invariably sketchy. But this is a good thing. Getting to the end offers insights that can’t be found any other way, and it will make the first revision pass much more fruitful.
One quirk I’ve learned during NaNo is that my scenes end up out of order. Since I know this about myself, I don’t spend too much time in my transitions from one incident to the next, because I’ll likely be moving them around later. I simply try to find the interior energy of a scene and expound on that as best I can. Then I move on. You can’t dilly-dally during NaNo.
And while it’s true I’ll be forced to discard large chunks of my preciously speed-written prose during the refining stages of the manuscript, it’s never wasted. I almost always learn something from the misstep, either about my characters or a plot direction that wasn’t going to work. I’ve also had delightful surprises. I didn’t find the great white shark star of my suspense book until the very end of the first draft. Her name was Bonnie, and when she arrived she changed the whole tone of the story. That’s why it’s important to get to the end. Once I knew about her, it was clear how I needed to lay the groundwork for her presence earlier in the book, and it completely informed the direction of my revisions.
This year, I’m unofficially participating and I won’t lie, it’s stressful. Some days I just can’t figure out what should happen next, and my mind’s innate tendency to wander off—online Christmas shopping! Let’s do that!—must be held in rigorous check. The manuscript (ANCIENT WINDS, the third book in my suspense series) is unfolding in a choppy and somewhat haphazard way, and it’s downright maddening. But … I’m finding those little gems along the way. (I have a fabulous scene in the Amazonian jungle with my hero and heroine and an anaconda that quite surprised me.) And this is because NaNo doesn’t let up; it forces you to write something. Anything. It inspires innovation.
So, if you’re a writer and haven’t given NaNo a try, consider it. You might astonish yourself. And if you’re a reader, have sympathy for those participating. We won’t be grumpy lunatics for long.
Connect with Kristy
Website
Blog ~ Pathways
Newsletter
Author Kristy McCaffrey
Kristy McCaffrey writes western historical and contemporary romances. She and her husband live in Arizona with their two dogs. Visit her online at kristymccaffrey.com.
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